The present invention relates to preparation of extracts which are employed to flavor foods and to use of enzymatic hydrolysis for preparing flavor extracts and also, particularly, to use of seeds of Trigonella foenum-graecum.
Trigonella foenum-graecum is a leguminous plant which is very widely distributed in some Mediterranean countries, as well as in Argentina and India (Y. S. Lewis, Spices and Herbs for the Food Industry, Food Trade Press, 1984, p. 141-142). The seeds of Trigonella foenum-graecum are used in particular as spices, for the preparation of curry in India, for example, as vegetables, as fodder for animals and for their medicinal powers (El-Mahdy et al., Food Chemistry, 1985, 18, 19-33).
It is also known to use Trigonella foenum-graecum for its flavouring power.
European Patent Application Publication No. 0 381 972 describes a process for using ground and roasted or nonroasted Trigonella foenum-graecum in the preparation of a soya sauce or of a fish sauce, so as to refine their taste.
Moreover, European Patent Application Publication No. 0 623 580 describes the stereospecific formation of (4S)-hydroxy-3-methyl-2-ketopentanoic acid from 4-hydroxy-L-isoleucine, isolated from Trigonella foenum-graecum, treated enzymatically with the aid of an L-amino acid oxidase or with the aid of microorganisms producing such an enzyme but which cannot be used in the food sector. 5(S)-Sotolone is then spontaneously formed from (4S)-hydroxy-3-methyl-2-ketopentanoic acid.